Tuesday, November 25, 2008

With Christmas just around the corner I am filled with excitement for our First Christmas with Georgia! I can hardly wait to fill her stocking, wrap her presents, dress her in holiday gear and tote her to all of the festive gatherings.

There was an article in Parenting magazine I was reading a few weeks ago about recognizing that not all Christmases' are festive and grand - and that sometimes, for some people the holidays are more of a hassle and stress than a happy occasion. The truth behind this article is really sad. I myself have experienced many Christmases' over the years that were wrought with stress and anxiety, but that never prevented the actual day from being any less exciting. It can be difficult to fit everything in that you want to over the Holiday season, especially with added pressure from work, children's activities etc. But when you break it all down, are we really a society that views too many festive events at once as a chore? If that were the case we would all hate Oktoberfest! If the worse thing that should happen to us over the holidays is that we have too many people to share wonderful presents with, or too many invites to handle - well then I would say things are pretty darn good.

So my wish for you Georgie girl, is that you always see each holiday as a blessing. That spending time with family is special, that each gift is recognized as a gift and not a privilege and most importantly, I hope you gain more joy from giving, than getting. As you grow older, I hope you will welcome the many invites that will surely come your way and appreciate all of the little things that make each holiday special (like your mother!).

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yes, its true! The other night Georgia and I were shopping at Old Navy, after browsing the store for awhile I took my purchases up to the cashier, paid and we left. Just as I was about to put Georgia in the car I couldn't help but notice that Georgia had also done some shopping! What was in her stroller you ask? A very cute hat and mitts set that apparently she decided she needed! So after taking a quick picture with my camera phone we promptly returned to Old Navy and returned Georgia's items.

I have saved the best little tidbit of info for the end - The hat and mittens set PERFECTLY matched her outfit! That's my girl :)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A few months ago Denby really couldnt be bothered with Georgia which to be honest really surprised me. But just recently Denby and Georgia have been playing quite a bit together and Denby has finally realized that Georgia could just be her new BFF....

This past weekend we took the bean to Ottawa to celebrate Grandpa's 80th Birthday. Erica, Cathie, Doug and I drove up on Thursday with Georgia and Taylor. Erica and I stayed at Andy & Cindy's and the boys drove up together on Friday. I wish I had thought to take a picture of Erica and I loading up the car. Travelling with 2 babies is no small feat, the car was packed full of baby stuff, we had so much that Cathie and Doug had to pack half of it in their car too! Thank goodness for grandparents that understand the need for a whole lot of stuff!

Andy and Cindy were gracious hosts, it was fun to spend time with them and get to know them a little better. Here is a few things that I learned:

1) Andy has been hiding his inner Martha for way to long - he makes cookies to die for!

2) Dryfus loves to play with my ankles, for such a large dog it is somewhat surprising that he managed to surprise me every time

3) Andy had turned Christmas lights into an art form. He changes them for every season (Trevor could learn a lot from Andy in this department, Trevor prefers to put them up, leave half of the bulbs empty and take them down in the summer after I have complained for 6 months....)

4) Andy and Cindy keep a very neat and tidy home - they could compete with my mother (the queen of Windex) for cleanliness

5) their TV plays the same things as our TV (baby Einstein and sports)

On Saturday we went to Arnprior to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. It was heartwarming to see all of the siblings working so hard to make the day extra special for their Dad. Over the years I have spent a great deal of time with this side of the family and I always look forward to each visit back. I have never been anywhere where I am made to feel so at home, so quickly. They always remember birthdays, anniversaries and would bend over backwards to help any of us. They are each unique but yet so similar in many ways, I truly am grateful to call each of them family.

Seeing Grandpa come into his party was one of my favourite moments of the day. He looked so happy to be there and so proud of all of his grandbabies and grandkids.

My favourite picture was the one of Georgia sleeping in her stroller. She wanted to stay awake the whole time at the party, but after making laps with stroller I finally got her to sleep!

It is finally here! One of my favorite times of the year - SHOPPING SEASON!!! Or, as most of you likely call it "Christmas". All of the decorations are out in the stores, the parking lots at the malls are fuller, the Christmas Cd's have hit the shelves and Georgia and I have hit the stores. I have to say it is nice to have a partner this year to do my shopping with!

I can hardly wait to wrap Georgia's presents and place them under the tree. In the back of my mind, I know that she will not really be able to understand Christmas or to even open most of her presents, but that doesn't stop me from imaging our best Christmas yet - because we finally have something special to share the season with. I have already bought Georgia several things, all sense has left me, along with my best laid plans for staying on budget. The truth is that I have already given her almost everything that we bought (opps!) but, I do have plans on wrapping them all anyway.

This morning I was so excited to see my flyer's on the front porch just waiting for me like an early present. After eyeing all of the great deals, Georgia and I rushed out to the stores to make some of our shopping season purchases. We made it to all of the destinations that I had in mind and Georgia really did well staying awake and happy for the entire morning. But even the best shoppers need a nap every now and then! The poor bean literally shopped until she dropped!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year, how can you not LOVE an event that is centred around candy and cute costumes? Trevor and I were so excited that we finally had a way to trick or treat again, we had visions of pillowcases full of candy and toting Georgia door to door... Unfortunately, everything didn't go as planned this year. Georgia came down with a cold so we decided to forgo the trick or treating and visited Jodie's and Erica's houses instead to show off our little skunk. But next year you can count on the Wheelers to be pounding the pavement in Baden, hunting down all of the best candy spots, with Georgia in tow of course! Hopefully by then I will be off my no fat no fun diet!

On a side note - are you asking yourself why Georgia has two costumes? Come on, did you really think I would ever be happy with just one? Truth be told, I actually have three costumes for her but she only fit into two.... oh well there is always next year :)

Georgia had her very own Halloween Party with over 10 babies in attendence. It was great to see all of the itty bitty babies and some of the older ones play together! The guest list included; Taylor, Ben, Owen, Kyle, Cooper, Thomas, Julia, Victoria, Ross, Marissa and Ava (and their mommies too!)

Halloween Party Update - it turns out that my innocent little party started a terrible chain of cold among the babies, their siblings and the mommies and daddies! I hope they all forgive me in time to attend Georgias Chistmas party...